


Royal Tantrum

by Aurlana



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Alistair is having a shit day, Anal Sex, Commander Rutherford, King Alistair (Dragon Age), M/M, Oral Sex, Stress Relief, cullen makes it better, king and commander, post Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:54:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23058085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurlana/pseuds/Aurlana
Summary: Cullen gets word that his King is having a bad day.He's more than willing to help turn Alistair's day around.
Relationships: Alistair/Cullen Rutherford
Comments: 18
Kudos: 37
Collections: Cullistair Kisses





	Royal Tantrum

* * *

**The Royal Tantrum**

* * *

When Cullen burst into the room, it looked like a tornado hit it: tables and chairs were knocked over, papers were strewn everywhere, and Alistair was huddled in the corner with his head in his hands. 

“Sweetheart, what happened? What’s wrong?” Cullen rushed over and knelt at his side.

Alistair fell into his arms. “These people… they just… I can’t fucking please them… Nothing I ever do is right and their demands are never-ending.” 

Cullen’s heart broke as Alistair looked at him with watery eyes. “What do you need?” The - _what can I do to fix this,_ went unsaid.

“I need a vacation! I want to get away, just you and me. Enjoy some quiet time where I don’t have to worry about pleasing the masses. Somewhere away from the royal court, away from duty and obligation, where I’m not king or in control of a nation.” He sighed, tightening his grip around Cullen. “I just want to be Alistair — plain old, boring, raised by dogs, nobody special -- Alistair.”

Cullen combed his fingers through Alistair’s hair. “There’s a flaw in your plan.”

“Oh?”

“Even plain old Alistair, is still special to me.” Cullen kissed Alistair’s forehead. “And truly, I've never known you to be boring.”

“You know what I meant,” Alistair huffed.

“I do. And I think you may be onto something.”

“I’m listening.”

“I can’t swoop you away from the court on such short notice.” Cullen winked.

“Cause swooping is bad?” Alistair asked.

“Exactly. I may not be able to take you away, but we can take the rest of the day off. We can do whatever you want, even if it’s staying in here, hiding from the visiting dignitaries and members of your usual entourage.” 

Alistair perked up at the idea, then wilted. “They’ll never let me. They’re all vultures!”

Cullen chuckled. “Hold that thought.” He peeled himself from Alistair’s arms and after a quick kiss, whispered, “I will be right back.”

“Promise?” Alistair asked.

“There’s no place I’d rather be than with you right now. I will only be a moment.” Cullen made his way toward the door. 

He spoke with their personal guard, stationed outside. “Lieutenant Harding, His Highness is under the weather and needs his rest. We will need supper brought up, but then he and I are not to be disturbed for the duration of the evening.”

Harding gave him the sign, indicating they were safe from prying ears, then grinned. “Chancellor Vittorio will not be happy.” She bounced a little on her toes. “I think I will take great pleasure in breaking the news to him first. The pompous ass needs to learn that the world doesn’t revolve around him.”

“You’re going to enjoy that, aren't you?” 

“You bet I will.” She sobered. “How’s he _really_ doing?”

“He’s tired, but he’ll be fine.”

“He’s been working too hard lately. He deserves a night off; you both do.”

“Thank you,” Cullen said.

“Don’t worry about a thing. I will reschedule his meetings and bring dinner up myself. Tonight, your world can revolve solely around Alistair.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“My world _always_ revolves around Alistair,” Cullen said, seriously. “And behave yourself. Don't make me regret bringing you with me when I left Skyhold.”

“You two would be lost without me,” she said.

“We definitely would, and for that you have our thanks.” 

“Anytime,” she grinned. “Don’t have too much fun before I get back with your food. I’m still trying to scrub my memory from the last time he answered the door after one of your… sessions.” She shuddered and walked away, leaving Cullen flushed and sputtering in her wake. 

Closing and locking the door, Cullen smiled at Alistair. “Well, that’s taken care of. Now it’s just you and I for the evening, which means…” Cullen began unbuckling his armor and setting it carefully on the stand in the corner. When he was down to his tunic and breeches, he reached out a hand to assist Alistair to his feet and back into his arms for a proper hug. “Mmmm, that is so much better,” Cullen said, holding Alistair tightly. “No more armor keeping me from feeling you next to me.” 

Alistair clung to him, tighter than usual.

Cullen whispered, “Why don’t you tell me what has you so upset?”

“Where do I even start?” Alistair sighed.

“That good huh? Maybe we should start with a drink and get more comfortable.”

Alistair nodded then plopped himself down on the settee in front of the fireplace while Cullen poured them both a glass of wine. “You know you don’t have to stay and babysit me,” Alistair said.

“Would you like me to leave?” Cullen handed over a glass, then sat down next to Alistair, draping an arm around his shoulders.

Snuggling into Cullen’s side, Alistair took a sip. “Of course I don’t, but I know you have responsibilities.”

Cullen grinned. “Something tells me my _boss_ isn’t going to fire me for taking the rest of the day for personal reasons, especially since he has to practically force me to take time off anyway.”

“I don’t know, I hear that boss of yours can be a bit of a loose cannon. You never know if he’s going to fly off the handle and lose his shit in front of visiting dignitaries.” Alistair drained his glass, then looked miserably into the bottom. 

“Is that what happened today?” Cullen asked, setting his own glass aside and taking Alistair’s hand.

Alistair shrugged. “That’s what happened right before you found me in here. How did you get here so quickly, anyway?”

Cullen rubbed the back of his neck. “Harding,” he said simply. “We have a system set-up that unobtrusively informs me of my presence being needed at any location on the palace grounds, with varying levels of urgency.” 

“That’s efficient.” Alistair traced the rim of his glass then set it on the side table with a sigh. 

“It got me here, and right now, that’s all I’m worried about. _You’re_ all I’m worried about. Do you want to tell me what set you off? You’re not usually so quick to lose your temper.”

Alistair rubbed his hands down his face. “You ever have one of those days that just starts off bad and goes downhill from there?”

“You know I have, and you’ve been here to help me through them, every single time. Now, why don’t you let me return the favor.”

Alistair nodded. “Today is one of those days for me. Nothing has gone right. From the moment I woke up, I’ve felt off and unable to find my footing.”

Cullen hung his head. “I’m sorry for not being here; I had an early training--” 

“It’s not your fault, neither one of us could have predicted today going the way it did.” Alistair’s smile was small and thin lipped. “Usually when I’m that off, I have you here to help ground me. But today I didn’t have that luxury before starting my day and it just sort of spiraled from there. Everyone needed something different; each demand was more urgent than the last and when I did make my decisions, they only seemed to ruffle, rather than soothe, feathers.”

“Sounds like you’ve had quite the day,” Cullen said.

“It’s been truly awful, but everyone has bad days, right? Why do I always have to be the positive and upbeat one? Why can’t I be grumpy and irritable sometimes too?”

“Can’t you?”

“No! Apparently I can’t. You’re the only one that allows me to have _real_ emotions. I’m allowed to feel, not only happy and positive, but sad, angry, lonely, or even just… meh.”

“Meh?”

“Yeah, meh. You know that, _I don’t know what the hell to feel, so I’m just going through the motions?_ — Meh.”

Cullen nodded. “ _Meh_ is definitely a useful emotion to have from time to time. Especially on the battlefield, it helps to think with your mind instead of your heart. It makes it easier to focus.”

“I think so too! But apparently these pompous assholes don’t. I thought I was doing well. I was keeping everything all tied down and under control, but as the day wore on, it got harder and harder to keep it together. When the representative from Orlais started in on me, I finally lost it. And you know what really gets my cheese?”

Cullen shook his head, no.

“Apparently everyone _else_ is allowed to have temper tantrums all day long in my court, but the minute I’m not joking around and finding silverlinings in everyone else’s piles of shit, people run for cover thinking I’ve lost my fucking mind!”

Cullen tightened his grip around Alistair. “I’m sorry you’ve had an awful day. I’d be lying, though, if I said it didn’t make me happy that you feel like you can be yourself around me. I never want you to have to pretend around me. I think you are an amazing King. You are generous and kind, yet firm with those who would try to take advantage of others. I’m proud of the work you do and the unbelievably difficult decisions that you have to make on a daily basis.”

Alistair buried his face in Cullen’s neck; accepting compliments was never one of his strong suits. “You wouldn’t be so proud of me if you saw the fit that I threw before storming out of my throneroom today.” 

“I am always proud of who you are. You have the hardest job there is. Not only do you have to look after an entire country, but you still manage to make those close to you love and appreciate you — from the most pompous noble, to the humble stable hands, there isn’t anyone you don’t actively try to take care of… including me. And you make it seem so effortless. You do it with a calm certainty and a positiveness that people around you can’t help but adopt for themselves. But you know what?”

Alistair looked at Cullen with moisture in his eyes. 

“No one can be expected to remain optimistic forever. Don’t get me wrong, I love that you can find positivity wherever you look. It’s refreshing, especially when my own mind takes me down dark roads, but I don’t expect you to always carry me, nor should anyone else.” Cullen tipped Alistair’s chin so he could look into his eyes. “You are beautiful and perfect, just as you are — good days and bad days and all the _meh_ days in between. I will always love you.”

“I love you too,” Alistair replied, sealing their lips with a kiss. “And thank you. What would I ever do without you?”

“Well, considering I’ve sold my soul to the crown, it looks like you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.” Cullen grinned, checking to see how Alistair was faring. His body was still held taut with stress, but the lines on Alistair’s face were starting to relax. “So, my love, tell me. What would you like to do with the rest of our afternoon and evening?”

Alistair sighed. “I suppose I have some apologizing to do, and I should probably work on cleaning this place up.”

Alistair started to rise, but Cullen pulled him back into his arms. “That can wait until later. For now, we need to work on _you_. Harding will take care of rearranging your schedule, and will have our supper delivered shortly. Right now it’s just us.”

“But, what about…?”

“No buts. You’ve been working yourself to exhaustion over this damn treaty. You’re tired, you're tense, you need some serious stress relief. When was the last time you came down to spar with the troops? You used to come down every few days to blow off steam, but you haven’t done anything like that for yourself lately. So, my love, tell me,” Cullen grinned, wickedly. “What can I do to relieve some of your… tension?”

“Well… we don’t have a lot of time. I mean, Harding will be here soon with our supper. And I wouldn’t want to scar her like last time.” Alistair winked.

“We better hurry, then.” He slid to his knees between Alistair’s legs. “Just a little something to take the edge off for now. After supper, I promise to spend extra time taking care of you.” He unlaced the front of Alistair’s breeches, pulling them down just far enough to free Alistair’s rapidly filling cock. Cullen licked his lips before taking Alistair into his mouth.

Alistair’s head lolled back against the settee as he slid a little farther down in his seat, granting Cullen better access. “Maker, you are too good at this.”

Cullen pulled off, licking around the tip with a grin. “I could stop if you want? I mean, we do have all night,” he said as he continued to stroke Alistair’s cock. “But you did say you wanted someone else to take control for a bit, so unless you’re truly protesting, I’m going to give you the world's fastest orgasm, pour you another drink, and, after Harding drops off dinner, I’m going to take my time feeding and taking care of you. Any objections?”

Alistair shook his head, then moaned loudly when Cullen proceeded to make good on his promise. 

**~*~**

Alistair’s grip tightened on Cullen’s hips as Cullen sank down on his shaft.

“Sweet, Maker, that feels good,” he sighed, enjoying Cullen’s tight heat and the look of sheer ecstasy on his face; head thrown back, hands on Alistair’s chest, mouth relaxed and open just a touch — Cullen was breathtaking.

Giving Cullen a moment to adjust (and himself that same moment, lest it be over far too quickly), Alistair rolled his hips only to have Cullen’s eyes snap to his. “No,” he simply said. “Your job is to just enjoy, let me take care of you.”

His grip lessened, but he didn’t remove his hands, enjoying the feeling of Cullen’s skin beneath his calloused fingers. Rubbing small circles with his thumbs, all Alistair could do was nod feebly as he let go of control, letting his lover take him. Trusting that Cullen knew exactly what he needed — and Maker help him, he really did — Cullen leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on Alistair’s lips, then slowly rocked his hips, drawing out a sinful moan from somewhere near Alistair’s toes. Cullen knew him better than anyone else — knew what he needed, how he needed it, and had no problem telling Alistair to back down and let him take over. 

It wasn’t easy for Alistair to let go. He wanted nothing more than to pound up into Cullen with wild abandon, but he’d just been complaining about having to be in control and not wanting to be anymore, so he watched, waited, and enjoyed every constriction of Cullen riding his cock. Every delicious circle of his hips, every slide and rocking of their pelvises together. And with his slow undulations, there was an ever present gaze of adoration. Cullen looked at him like he wanted to both eat him alive and worship his body until the end of time, and, at the moment, Alistair didn’t care which one happened as long as Cullen didn’t stop. 

Getting lost in the sensation, Alistair closed his eyes. Cullen’s hands on his chest brought Alistair’s attention back to the present. Blunt nails raking over his nipples and that coy smile Alistair loves so much aimed down at him. “Stay with me, my love,” Cullen said, as he picked up the pace. “I am almost there. So close. I just need a little bit--” 

Alistair’s grip tightened on Cullen’s hips, still not thrusting, but guiding Cullen ever so slightly, right where he knew Cullen wanted it most. And, Maker help him, this wasn’t taking over, it wasn’t taking control, it was working together toward the same goal. It was heaven. A slow, tentative roll of his own hips followed by a quick thrust when Cullen was right where he wanted him, had the reaction Alistair was hoping for. 

“Fuck, Maker - YES!” Cullen exclaimed, meeting Alistair in perfect unison. 

Head thrown back, chasing his release, Alistair swore he’d never seen anything more beautiful. Cullen was perfect for him, everything he needed or could want in a partner. He knew more than anyone else when to push Alistair harder or to make him finally let go. Letting go of control was something he was rarely allowed to do, but with Cullen, he could, and he loved every moment of it. 

Watching Cullen rock his hips above him, sweat glistening on his perfect skin while pulling off and sliding back down again, was mesmerizing. The sheer strength and beauty never ceased to take his breath away. As Cullen shuddered above him, his body going rigid with release, the warm feel of his come splashing across his chest, Alistair chased his own pleasure. It didn’t take long; three more thrusts and he was toppling over the edge, pulling Cullen down for the connecting kiss they both cherished as they came down from their high together. 

Alistair held on tighter than usual, rubbing soothing circles on Cullen’s back and stroking long swipes along his thighs until they were able to catch their breath. Cupping Cullen’s face, Alistair brought their lips together and couldn’t help the relaxed smile that followed.

Cullen smiled back. “Feeling better, my love?”

Instead of an answer, Alistair blurted out, “Marry me.”

Cullen’s eyes grew wide. “What?” he asked.

“Marry me,” Alistair repeated, brushing his thumbs across Cullen’s cheeks, searching him for signs of refusal. 

“Alistair,” Cullen’s face still emanated love, but was overshadowed with something else… sadness? “You know that it’s not legal. The King can only marry someone who can produce an heir.”

“Fuck the law,” Alistair spat. “Am I not the King? Can I not make my own laws and rules? Besides, that shouldn’t apply to me anyway. I am practically sterile from the joining. Lana’s cure of the taint wasn’t able to affect that part of me. I will get to live a long life, but I am unable to produce my own heir. So why shouldn’t I marry you? Why shouldn’t I be able to have you at my side and in my bed as my Prince Consort.”

Cullen’s eyes glistened as he leaned in for a heartfelt kiss.

“Is that a yes?” Alistair asked as they pulled apart.

“My heart is yours; it always has been, with a ring or without. But yes, I will absolutely marry you if you can make it happen. It’s not something I ever dared to even dream about. You know I’m content to support you from where I am.” 

“I know, sweetheart. And it’s not like our relationship is a secret anyway. This way, I will stop getting letters of intent from people in Orlais, so it’s purely selfish of me, really.”

“There isn’t a selfish bone in your body, and you know it.” Cullen reached for one of their shirts off the side of the bed and proceeded to wipe them both off, then snuggled into Alistair’s arms. “I love you, you know that, right?” 

“Even though I lose my temper and throw royal tantrums in the throne room?” 

“Especially because when you do, you allow me to help calm you down.”

“See? You _are_ good for me; they will have to let me marry you, if for no other reason than you can talk me down from the ledge when all I want to do is smite the visiting dignitaries.”

“You would never.”

“I know that, and you know that, but let’s keep that between us.” Alistair winked. “And you know what the best part of us getting married will be?”

“Getting to kiss you publicly before we part after breakfast?”

“Well, there is _that_. I was thinking more like, the honeymoon. You and me, alone together, with no interruptions, no court to cater to, and no one to tell me what to do, but you.”

“That sounds absolutely perfect.”

“Yes… yes it does.” Alistair sighed with contentment.

Cullen nuzzled closer as Alistair tightened his arms around him and kissed the top of his head. “Sweet dreams, my love. And thank you… for everything.”

Cullen mumbled something unintelligible, but the tightening of his arms around Alistair meant that he heard him. 

**Author's Note:**

> My eternal thanks to **Ponticle** for being my editor, support, and friend. It's been almost four years since we started working together and I will never be able to repay them properly for all the help and guidance they've given me. <3
> 
> Thank you also to **Tatteredleaf** for being my sounding board and shoulder when I have days much like Alistair's here.
> 
> And finally - thank you to _you_ , for taking the time to read my little work of love! I appreciate you and your time more than I can express with words. <3


End file.
